1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drawer comprising a bottom surface, two opposing side walls parallel to one another and a horizontal top surface defining the top of the drawer,
wherein said side walls are each provided at the top with an uppermost recess that extends over the entire side wall, is open towards the outside of the drawer and is delimited from above by an uppermost support body, wherein the uppermost recesses, viewed in the vertical direction, are a recess distance X away from the top surface and wherein the outsides of the uppermost support bodies, viewed in the horizontal direction, have an external support body spacing V.
2. Background
A drawer of this type is known, inter alia, as a drawer from an aircraft trolley of the KSSU type or of the ATLAS type.
In commercial aviation it is customary to provide the passengers with snacks, meals, etc. during the flight. These are wheeled through the cabin past the passengers in turn by means of so-called trolleys. In practice, trolleys of two different types are used; those of the KSSU type and those of the ATLAS type. These are defined trolleys produced in accordance with strict specifications that have been agreed with airlines. Trolleys of the KSSU type as well as trolleys of the ATLAS type are thus both standardised products. Both types of trolleys are provided along facing internal side walls with rail systems with horizontal rails parallel to one another. The rails are separated by a certain spacing in the vertical direction. In the case of trolleys of the KSSU type the spacing is a standard 30 mm and in the case of trolleys of the ATLAS type the spacing is a standard 60 mm. It will be clear that as a result of the smaller spacing, the KSSU trolleys can be provided with more drawers than the ATLAS trolleys for, apart from that, the same height of the trolleys. In the case of trolleys of the KSSU type, it is, moreover, possible as a result of the shorter spacing to achieve a higher degree of loading when using drawers that are shallow in the vertical direction than with an ATLAS trolley. If a shallow drawer, also termed a tray, with a height of approximately 5 mm is slid into an ATLAS trolley, approximately 55 mm of empty space, or at least space not occupied by a drawer, then remains above said tray in the trolley. In the case of a trolley of the KSSU type this distance will be approximately 25 mm.
In the case of trolleys of the KSSU type the drawers are provided at the sides, close to the bottom, with a supporting lip that makes bearing contact with a rail. In order to provide an anti-tip safety feature, the KSSU drawers are provided along a top edge with a similar lip, which, however, will not make contact with a rail, except as soon as tipping occurs. Furthermore, with the KSSU system trays are also provided which are a sort of shallow trays with a bearing edge along the top edge for bearing on a rail.
In the ATLAS system trays are provided that bear along the side edges of their base on rails in the drawer cabinet. Furthermore, with the ATLAS system drawers are provided which have a standard height of approximately 115 mm. The drawers of the ATLAS system are each provided along their side walls with a recess into which the rails of the drawer cabinet can extend, such that the top of the recess bears on the rails and the drawer is thus completely supported by the top of said recess bearing on the rails.
The ATLAS system is the system that is most widely used. Overall, the KSSU system is used for approximately 10% of aircraft trolleys, whilst the ATLAS system is used for 80 to 90% of aircraft trolleys.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a drawer with which the flexibility of known drawer cabinets for aircraft trolleys can be appreciably increased with regard to drawers of varying height to be used therein, and in particular, but not exclusively, for drawer cabinets of the ATLAS system. However, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that it will also be possible to employ the same principle with drawer cabinets of the KSSU type.